


the magic named "us"

by moonbeamlex



Series: the four magical boyfriends of choi soobin [1]
Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Faerie Yeonjun, Librarian Soobin, M/M, Polyamory, Shifter Beomgyu, Vampire Taehyun, Warlock Kai, but everyone adores soobin anyway, everyone but soobin is magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:01:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonbeamlex/pseuds/moonbeamlex
Summary: "But here… a lot of us live a long time, Soobin-ah, and a lot of us fall in love a lot of times in those long lives. There’s never anything wrong with love, even if the human world hasn’t figured that out yet."choi soobin has been chasing magic ever since he was a child. when he graduates college and gets offered an opportunity to work as a librarian at a magical university, he takes it immediately, and it starts his life down a path he quickly realizes he was always meant to be on.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Soobin, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Everyone, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai, Choi Soobin/Kang Taehyun
Series: the four magical boyfriends of choi soobin [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160717
Comments: 17
Kudos: 127





	the magic named "us"

**Author's Note:**

> this is dedicated to kay and cheshire. 
> 
> choi soobin just deserves all the love. 
> 
> lyrics are, of course, from 9 3/4 (run away) by txt.

> _ "the magic began the moment i saw you"  _

Soobin moved to be closer to magic. If he was asked, he said it was because he had just graduated college and he wanted to explore the world, get out and see what there was to offer, and he had gotten an offer to work in the library at a magical university. It was a huge opportunity, one too good to pass up, Soobin told anyone who questioned him. In reality, Soobin had never questioned his decision. He had loved magic since he was young, since he had met a friend at the park who could make flowers grow with his laugh. His mom hadn’t believed him, no one had believed him at the time. Magic wasn’t real and he was young, imaginative, and swept up in the emotions of having a new best friend. 

Even when he brought flowers home after every playdate, his mom did nothing more than teach him how to press them with books, so that he could save them forever. 

Then his friend had moved away. Soobin had almost convinced himself that he had made it all up as he grew older, because despite reading as many books about the subject as he could get his hands on, he frowned each time it ended with the stipulation that there was no definitive proof magic was at all real, this was all speculation and observation, anecdotal tales from people who had been deemed unreliable. 

And then halfway through high school, magic was exposed. 

Not just magic, a whole world that had been hidden to humans for years, centuries. 

Soobin knew immediately that he wanted to be a part of it. 

And now he had a chance. 

So he packed up his small apartment and bid his friends goodbye and followed the magic to his new home. 

Soobin immediately fell in love with everything he saw. The small housing the university was providing him was charming and cozy, with a fireplace and a bathtub big enough to truly soak in. The campus was green, small, but full of life. The air buzzed with magic and Soobin drank it in eagerly. 

The library felt like home. 

There were so many books, the smell of them one of Soobin’s favorites. The stacks seemed limitless, like you could get lost in them, like there were too many for what didn’t seem like a very big building. It felt like maybe it should be intimidating, but since he was young Soobin had loved getting lost and wasting time wandering through libraries with his fingers trailing along the spines of books. 

His boss was kind too, tall (yet still shorter than Soobin, which seemed a little unfair) with blue hair, kind eyes behind glasses, and a warm smile. He had immediately told Soobin, “Please, call me hyung,” when they had introduced themselves and it felt genuine. It made Soobin feel at ease, made it easy to fall into comfortable conversation about his role in the library, made it feel okay to laugh when the elder tripped over his own two feet and sparks flew from his fingertips in surprise. 

And he fell into the job easily. 

He was good at it and students didn’t seem to mind the fact that he was obviously without magic, one of the only things that had caused Soobin genuine worry about the move. Most people with magic hadn’t been expecting to be exposed, hadn’t enjoyed the scrutiny that came from humans, and still today a lot of magic communities were completely closed off from humans without magic. Soobin didn’t blame any of them, couldn’t hold a grudge against those wanting to protect themselves from oppressors, but was truly grateful that so far no one had seemed to care that a human was working at the university.

Soobin didn’t know if there were other humans on staff, but there were no others working at the library. It was a little tedious, shelving books by hand when one of the students on staff could just snap their fingers and they would all fly into their proper places, but Soobin didn’t mind the quiet monotony that sometimes came with his job, so it worked out fine in the end. 

Working at the front desk was his favorite, however. He got to meet new people, which was intimidating at first but quickly became more fun than anything. He liked helping students find books, wandering the library and chatting with them, getting to know the regulars who came to study often. He didn’t even mind helping with things like computer issues, although the few times an upset student cursed the computers instead of simply asking for help were definitely not his favorite. 

It was also a good place to people watch. Sometimes, when things were slow and there wasn’t a line for help, Soobin would settle into his chair and crack open one of the many books he had access to around him, trying to learn more about magical history and the types of people who shared the university. Other times, he found it was more fun to learn by watching the students and faculty directly. 

When he was younger, before magic had been exposed, Soobin had thought that magic came from other humans, people just like him but with something special about them. He knew now that wasn’t necessarily true, that witches and warlocks were the majority of magical beings but definitely not the only ones. Soobin had been delighted to find out about the beings that felt more like they belonged in fairy tales than reality. 

Still, years after finding out about magical beings and communities, Soobin didn’t know much about anyone besides warlocks. Watching others helped fill in gaps. He could tell when it was close to full moons because sheepish werewolves would come up to his desk, apologies spilling from their tongues as they held up a book they had ripped by accident, their strength getting the better of them as the moon got closer. He always smiled at them, easing their guilt by telling them they had a warlock who specialized in book repair on staff, and sent them away with a, “Good luck!” for the coming moon.

When an angry demon set a small fire in the bathroom, however, Soobin was not as kind. At least, not until the demon had tearfully apologized and then spent the next twenty minutes sitting by Soobin’s side, telling him about how stressful her classes were this semester and how her girlfriend had broken up with her less than a week ago and that sometimes it was just too hard to control the urge to destroy. 

Soobin had made her promise not to do anymore damage in his library, but also offered a hug, which she took easily.

His very first friend at his new job was a faerie. 

It was easy to tell he was fae from the second Soobin laid eyes on him. His hair was soft pink and smelled like cotton candy, but his eyes were mischievous. He had asked Soobin’s name immediately after walking up to the desk, his smile devious and confident, and Soobin had narrowed his eyes slightly, studying him, before pointing at his nametag. The fae had laughed, his head thrown back, and it had sounded a little bit like music.

Soobin had been instantly intrigued by him. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Soobin-ssi,” the fae had said, holding a hand out in greeting. Soobin stood from his seat and shook it, a little confused. “I’m Yeonjun. I’m one of the dance professors. One of my students wouldn’t stop talking about you and how handsome you were, so I decided to come see for myself.” 

Soobin immediately flushed, but couldn’t help but smile. “Oh, I’m sorry to disappoint,” he started, but Yeonjun cut him off. 

“Why are you apologizing? If anything, you’re more stunning than I had pictured.” 

Soobin’s flush grew, he could feel his ears tinting pink, but he tried to keep steady. “Thank you,” he said, but he couldn’t hide the grin on his face. “Can I help you with anything? Or did you just drop by to try and flatter me?” 

“Definitely the second option,” Yeonjun said, seemingly growing more bold as Soobin clearly reacted well to the praise. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have to run, this was supposed to be a quick stop to peek at the new librarian, I didn’t even intend to say hi. Now that I have, though, would you like to get lunch sometime this week? The cafeteria is a lot better than you’d think, honestly, they make really good salads.” 

Soobin hesitated only a second. He wasn’t sure if Yeonjun meant it to be romantic, he had heard that most fae just seemed to enjoy flirting, but it didn’t really matter either way. Soobin would love to get to know him. “Sure,” he said, before grabbing a small slip of paper on his desk and scribbling down his phone number. “Here,” he said offering it to the fae, “text me. You know. Whenever.” 

Yeonjun’s smile grew wider, more genuine than mischievous, as he took the paper. “You sure know how to win someone over, Soobin-ssi. I’ll text you. Have a nice day at work.” 

And with that, Yeonjun was gone. 

Soobin sank back into his chair, a little dazed at the interaction, and when his boss came up to him to let him know his shift had ended, he still must look a little dopey as his boss had immediately asked if he was okay. Soobin had shared his encounter with Yeonjun, and his boss had laughed. “I know Yeonjun-ah,” he had said, “my husband is a dance professor as well. Yeonjun is a great person. I hope you have fun on your date.”

The word date lingered in Soobin’s head for the rest of the night, but when Yeonjun had reached out to him over text, Soobin didn’t feel as anxious as he thought he would. They sent texts back and forth often, asking each other questions about growing up in completely separate worlds, learning about each other and their culture and asking about each other’s days. Soobin asked Yeonjun to explain his gender, the way he didn’t mind being called noona or hyung and why, and Yeonjun asked Soobin to explain what it was like to go to a high school dance. It was nice. 

By the time they actually had a chance to meet up, their schedules finally aligning long enough to have a real chance to talk over lunch instead of rushing to eat, Soobin felt like he had known Yeonjun for much longer than he had. They had chosen a table in the crowded university cafeteria, talking about Yeonjun’s class and his favorite students, when Yeonjun decided to sit down directly beside Soobin instead of on the other side of the table. 

Yeonjun had clearly seen the flush on Soobin’s cheek, because his mischievous smile was back, and he moved his chair closer so their thighs were pressed together. And that was it. From there, their conversation continued. Soobin had to turn down Yeonjun’s offered bites of food several times, each time rolling his eyes at Yeonjun’s pout and whine about how good his saffron salad was, but Yeonjun seemed to take his refusal as more of a challenge than an insult. 

“Who told you about fae?” Yeonjun had asked after the third time Soobin had rejected his offer. “You’re fully human, but you didn’t tell me your name, and now you won’t eat.  _ Someone  _ has clearly ruined you for me before I got the chance,” he said, his voice dropping a little, the innuendo clear. 

Soobin shoved him with his shoulder. “No one  _ ruined  _ me, but I’m a librarian. I know how to  _ read,  _ that’s how I learned. I like you, but I’m not ready to let you mark me as belonging to a faerie. I mean, not yet at least,” he said, before reaching out to take a drink of his Coke, smirking to himself when he left Yeonjun spluttering. 

After that, things were pretty simple between him and Yeonjun. They got lunch, they flirted, they sometimes hung out after they both got off work, but they never fully crossed the line from friends that flirted with each other to anything more. They both seemed to be waiting for something, at least that’s what Soobin got from the situation. They didn’t actually talk about it. 

Talking about it would probably lead to things being different, and neither one seemed ready for that. 

One day, though, Yeonjun came in to see him in the library, dragging along a boy with messy brown hair and a bright smile that Soobin had seen a few other times before. He usually seemed to come to the library to play games on the computers, not to actually study or read, but Soobin thought he was pretty good at the games and had never judged him too harshly. 

Yeonjun was scowling while the boy was grinning, though, so Soobin was confused when Yeonjun marched the boy up to his desk. “Beomgyu-ah, you tell Soobin-ssi what you did,” Yeonjun said, letting go of what must have been Beomgyu’s arm to instead cross his own over his chest, a pout on his lips. 

Soobin thought he was ridiculously cute, but pulled his eyes away to look at Beomgyu instead. The other boy was still grinning, and immediately stretched his arms above his head when Yeonjun let go. Soobin noticed he was wearing a crop top but quickly darted his eyes away. He hoped Yeonjun hadn’t noticed as he tried to train his eyes on Beomgyu’s face. 

“Yeonjun-noona is overreacting,” Beomgyu said, “but I did take this. You can have it back, if you want,” he said, opening his backpack and pulling out a cardigan. Soobin took it back from Beomgyu, even more confused, studying it to make sure it was his. It seemingly was, the one he had thought he had lost a week ago, but now covered in...what seemed to be fur. Before he could open his mouth to ask why Beomgyu had taken it, the other boy beat him to it. “I was using it to nap. It looked soft. It  _ was  _ soft.” 

“I caught him napping on it in the practice room,” Yeonjun said, shaking his head, although he mostly seemed fond. “I recognized it because you wore it to lunch last week. I asked him where he got it and he started going on about how he stole it from the ‘ _ cute librarian _ ’ so it was his now. I made him bring it back.” 

“Cute librarian?” Soobin asked before his brain caught up to his mouth. 

Whoops. That probably wasn’t the part he was supposed to be focusing on. 

Beomgyu’s smile widened. “Hi, I’m the one that got Yeonjun to introduce himself. I’m Beomgyu, but you already know that. And you’re Soobin, but I already know that. Wanna go out?” 

Soobin stared, wide eyed, as Yeonjun turned and smacked Beomgyu gently on the back of his head. “Hey! Brat! You don’t ask out other people’s boyfriends!”    
  


“Wait,” Soobin said, eyes going as wide as they could, “ _ boyfriends?”  _

Now Yeonjun’s eyes were wide, like he hadn’t meant to say that. Or at least, hadn’t meant to say it out loud. “I mean, well, uh, potential maybe future boyfriends, I know we haven’t talked about it, I mean we definitely need to talk about it but--"

“You haven’t even kissed him yet!” Beomgyu interjected. “If you haven’t kissed him yet, I have the time to swoop in and get him to want to date me too. So ha.” 

“This is all very overwhelming,” Soobin said, holding his cardigan tight, “and I am technically at work. Can we talk about this in like...two hours? I can meet you guys somewhere and I promise you can continue to yell at each other while I stand here confused, you’ll get the full experience, just maybe not in the library?” 

Beomgyu and Yeonjun both shut up, nodding seriously, but Yeonjun reached out and placed a hand on Soobin’s cheek. Soobin closed his eyes briefly, leaning into the touch and smiling, before Yeonjun pulled his hand away, seemingly reassured, and left, still bickering with Beomgyu. 

Soobin needed to calm down. He got one of his coworkers to cover the desk for him for a break and slipped into the back room, where he ran into his boss sitting with his feet up on the table and a poetry book in his lap. “Hi, Soobin-ah,” his boss said, distracted by the book. 

Soobin sat down across from him. “Hyung, I have a question,” he said, fidgeting with the sleeves of the cardigan he had been returned and put on. 

His boss immediately looked up, marking his spot in the book. “Okay, hit me,” he said, focusing on Soobin as Soobin explained what had just happened. He listened intently, not interrupting at any point but nodding and encouraging Soobin to continue when he hesitated. When Soobin had finished the story, his boss had sat back in his chair, considering. 

“I think you have a few options here, Soobin, and it depends on what you want. Do you want to date Yeonjun?” 

Soobin thought about it, briefly, and then nodded. He had thought it was heading there since they first got lunch. It was nice, he liked Yeonjun a lot. But… “Yes,” he verbalized out loud, frowning at himself as he continued, “but I was definitely attracted to Beomgyu too. That probably means I wouldn’t be a good boyfriend, right? I almost said yes, before Yeonjun said something.” 

“No, Soobin-ah, that doesn’t mean you’d be a bad boyfriend at all,” his boss said, his smile fond. “It just might mean you want to date Yeonjun and see Beomgyu too. There’s nothing wrong with that, if you tell them and they agree to it. Some people love more than one person, and I know love sounds like a big word right now in this situation, but it always has to start somewhere. Maybe this somewhere is here.” 

Soobin’s frown eased away, but he was still nervously fidgeting with his sleeve. “It wouldn’t make me selfish? To ask if I can be Yeonjun’s boyfriend and still say yes to Beomgyu?” 

“Of course it won’t make you selfish, Soobin. You’re one of the least selfish people I’ve met. You’re constantly volunteering to do the difficult tasks, you always come in on your days off if someone asks nicely. I know it seems a little weird, I know you grew up in the human world. I’ve spent a lot of time there too, blending in before everything, and I know they’re a lot more strict about this kind of stuff. But here… a lot of us live a long time, Soobin-ah, and a lot of us fall in love a lot of times in those long lives. There’s never anything wrong with love, even if the human world hasn’t figured that out yet. Take it from me. My husband and I, we’ve fallen in love plenty of times before we met each other. We don’t hold that against each other. We’ll probably fall in love again… in fact, we’ve got our eyes on a nice vampire professor.” 

Soobin listened intently, already feeling better at his boss’ words. “Okay. Thank you, really, Namjoon-ah. I needed to hear something like that.” 

Namjoon was still smiling and reached out to ruffle Soobin’s hair. “Anytime. Why don’t you go ahead and head out? I feel like you’ve still got a lot of thinking to do.” 

Soobin was grateful that his boss seemed to be able to read his mind, agreeing to the early day, taking his time to gather his stuff before he left. Before he texted Yeonjun asking to meet up, Soobin decided to take a walk, time to clear his head and think of what he wanted to say. 

While he was walking he came into a small clearing of grass filled with flowers, flowers that felt familiar. He knelt down to look more closely and realized they were the same kind of small blue flowers that he had collected as a child, the ones his mother had helped him preserve after every play date with his former best friend. The flowers that had taught him about magic in the first place. It felt like a sign, like something was reaching out to him to tell him he was still on the right path. He hesitated a second before reaching out and plucking a flower, tucking it into one of the books he had with him, before pulling his phone out and texting Yeonjun, asking where he wanted to meet. 

Soobin had never been inside the dance halls before, felt like he had barely begun to explore the university, but Yeonjun had given pretty good instructions on how to find his practice room, so Soobin had only been lost for a few minutes when he actually stumbled across the right room. He peeked in the window to make sure before entering and saw Yeonjun on the floor, back against the mirror, something fluffy and brown and small in his lap, but no Beomgyu in sight. 

Soobin wondered if Beomgyu had maybe changed his mind, and felt a small pang of disappointment before deciding it made his conversation a lot less difficult. He let himself into the room and Yeonjun looked up at him, smiling immediately, but holding a hand up to his lips to shush him. Soobin looked at him, confused, before getting a closer look at what was in his lap. 

It was a sleeping bear cub. 

Soobin was immediately taken aback. 

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket. 

He took it out and checked the message, from Yeonjun, “Beomgyu fell asleep. Come sit, he’ll wake up soon.”    
  
Beomgyu. The bear cub in Yeonjun’s lap was Beomgyu. That was the mysterious fur on Soobin’s cardigan. Beomgyu was a shifter. 

Soobin didn’t know why he was so surprised, of course Beomgyu was magic. He was a student in a magic university, there had to have been something magical about him. God, he was magical and adorable. Two of Soobin’s weaknesses. 

He made his way across the dance floor, settling in beside Yeonjun who was playing some game on his phone, seemingly not bothered by the cub in his lap, as if this was a common occurrence. Soobin settled in, close to Yeonjun’s side, waiting a few minutes before pulling out one of his books and starting to read. It was nice, comfortable, and when Yeonjun slipped a hand into his, Soobin retaliated by resting his head on Yeonjun’s shoulder. 

They spent thirty minutes in comfortable silence before the bear in Yeonjun’s lap started to stir. 

Upon realizing that Soobin was there, in a flash of magic, the cub was Beomgyu again. “You should have woken me,” he said, voice slightly deeper with sleep. 

“Shush,” Yeonjun said, putting his phone away as Soobin marked his place in his book with the flower he had found earlier. “You’re always so tired, Beomie, you need to sleep more.” 

  
“Yeah yeah,” Beomgyu said, sitting on his knees and looking back and forth between the two elder boys. Soobin still thought he looked adorable, even when he wasn’t fluffy. This was kinda unfair. Soobin wished he could become a cute animal. “Did you think about it, Soobin?” 

“Um,” Soobin said, wishing Yeonjun was still holding his hand so he wouldn’t fidget. “Yes. I have some things I would like to say, and you can say no, or you can tell me to fuck off, or, you know, whatever. That’s okay. But I think I would like to date both of you? Maybe? Or, I guess, attempt it. I barely know you, Beomgyu, but I want to say yes to your date. But I would still really like to be Yeonjun’s boyfriend.” 

“Yes!” Beomgyu cheered, pumping a fist in the air and falling back on his back. “Score. It’s because I’m so good at video games, isn’t it? I’ve seen you watching me. I can give you tips, if you want.” 

Soobin laughed, rolling his eyes but glancing sideways to Yeonjun. Yeonjun was smiling too. Soobin relaxed. 

“No one wants to date you because you’re good at video games, Beomgyu,” Yeonjun said, reaching out with his foot to nudge Beomgyu in the side. “It’s because you’re wearing Taehyun’s shirt and it’s too small on you. It’s dangerous.” 

Beomgyu whined at Yeonjun, but Yeonjun ignored him and instead turned his full attention to Soobin. “I would love to be your boyfriend, Soobin-ah,” he said, his smile growing wider by the second, “but first I think we have some business to attend to.” 

With that, he leaned in and kissed Soobin without any pomp or circumstance. Soobin could distantly hear Beomgyu cheering, but mostly focused on the feeling of Yeonjun’s, his boyfriend’s, lips on his. 

It was magical. 

And things fell together for the three much quicker than Soobin had been expecting. It helped that Yeonjun and Beomgyu were so close already, which Soobin learned as he got to know them both more, together and separately. Beomgyu was his age, only a few months younger, but still in school. “I’m thinking of becoming a career academic,” he had told him on their first date, “at least until my career as a race car driver or professional video gamer works out. Then we’ll see.” 

Beomgyu also wasn’t officially enrolled in any of Yeonjun’s classes but instead was part of the dance club Yeonjun had started for students who wanted to learn to dance without the pressure of a grade attached. In fact, for being a “professional academic,” Soobin wasn’t actually sure what classes Beomgyu were officially enrolled in, because he never seemed to actually be in class. Or studying. 

“I’ve got my ways, Soobin,” he had said, one night when Soobin was working a late shift and Beomgyu had shown up to bring him coffee and “study,” after Soobin had caught him watching YouTube instead. Soobin learned pretty quickly not to question him, but he always made Soobin’s night shifts more bearable. There were nights when it was quiet, mostly empty, and Beomgyu would sneak behind the desk to throw himself on Soobin’s lap, making himself comfortable before shifting to his bear form. 

Those nights, reading with Beomgyu dozing on his lap, soft and cuddly, were some of Soobin’s favorites. One of those nights, however, he had someone come up to the desk. He was blonde, kind of short, but with one of the most intense looking eyes Soobin had ever seen. He, like Beomgyu had been, looked familiar, like he was a regular of the library, but Soobin didn’t think he had ever approached for help before. 

Soobin thought he probably would have remembered that. 

“Hi,” he said, and his voice was soft, as if he didn’t want to wake Beomgyu up, but steady, “I need help finding a book.” 

“Oh! Okay, sure, give me just a second,” Soobin said, shifting as carefully as he could to lift Beomgyu in his arms and place him back on the empty seat once he had stood without waking him. “What can I help you find?” he asked, once he was sure Beomgyu was going to nap through the movement. 

The blonde handed him a piece of paper with a book title on it and Soobin immediately slipped into his role. He truly loved his job, even in the middle of the night in a mostly empty library, with one of his...well, he and Beomgyu hadn’t used the term boyfriends yet, but they kept going on dates, so one of the boys he went on dates with quite often asleep on his desk chair. 

He and the blonde wandered off together into the stacks to find the book that had apparently alluded the other boy and Soobin felt the urge to try and strike up a conversation. “My name is Soobin,” he said as they walked down an aisle of the books, Soobin’s eyes scanning the titles to see if he could spot anything. 

“I’m Taehyun,” the blonde, Taehyun, said. “You’re wearing a name tag.” 

Soobin smiled and nodded. “I am, but it still seems polite to introduce myself.” 

“I like that,” Taehyun said, flashing Soobin a smile, and that’s when Soobin saw the fangs. Taehyun was a vampire. Soobin supposed it made sense as to why he had only seen him on his night shifts. It was hard for young vampires to handle daylight, Soobin had read, so most vampires lived on a nocturnal schedule. He knew the school offered an extensive amount of night classes, and the library also stayed open twenty-four hours a day. 

“I’m glad,” Soobin said, snapping himself out of his thoughts and smiling back at Taehyun. They fell into casual conversation while they looked for the book, which seemed to be elusive. Soobin normally didn’t have this much trouble finding something in the stacks, even if he was starting blind. He hoped Beomgyu wouldn’t wake up and think he had been abandoned. Soobin should have left a note. 

Taehyun didn’t seem to mind that it was taking them a long time to find his book, though. He kept smiling at Soobin, and Soobin couldn’t stop stealing glances at his fangs. They looked sharp. It was a little intimidating, all of Taehyun was a little intimidating, but it was also just...kind of cool. Soobin hadn’t really talked to any other vampires before. Taehyun, himself, was cool it seemed. He was really smart and didn’t mind telling Soobin about the thesis he was working on, even when Soobin asked questions that probably made it obvious he didn’t have much idea what he was talking about. 

Taehyun wanted to be a professor, he explained as they walked, so he didn’t mind answering Soobin’s questions at all. He liked it, he assured him, which just made Soobin more invested in the conversation. He kind of missed writing papers himself, so living vicariously through Taehyun’s thesis wasn’t something he was going to shut down. 

In fact, Soobin was a little bummed when they finally found the book they had been searching for, oddly hidden under a plant at the end of one of the musical theory stacks. Soobin didn’t question it for long, though, mostly just feeling a little bit like a detective who had solved a case for a hot client. 

Wait. 

He probably shouldn’t be comparing one of the library patrons to a femme fatale in his private eye fantasy. 

But again, the  _ fangs  _ were pretty cool. 

“Thank you,” Taehyun had said, taking the book from his hand. “You found it a lot quicker than I expected.” 

Soobin grinned, nodding his head. “I’m pretty good at this! If you ever need any help again, let me know. I liked talking to you.” 

Taehyun returned his smile, nodding back. “Thank you, Soobin-ssi, I will.” 

“Oh, feel free to call me hyung,” Soobin said, starting the walk back to his desk with Taehyun by his side. 

“I have a feeling I’m much older than you,” Taehyun responded, which almost stopped Soobin in his tracks. Oh. That would make sense. Taehyun looked younger, but he was a  _ vampire.  _ Vampires didn’t age, did they? 

“How old are you?” he asked, and then winced. That wasn’t a very polite question to ask.

Taehyun, however, laughed. “It doesn’t matter. I like the idea. I hope I’ll see you again, hyung,” he said, as they approached the desk. Soobin was getting ready to respond, both to the fact that Taehyun had called him hyung without needing to and the nice sentiment of wanting to see him again, but when he turned to look at where Taehyun had been beside him, he was gone. 

Vampires were so  _ cool.  _

Beomgyu hadn’t woken up in the time that Soobin had been gone, although he did blink awake when Soobin was rearranging him in his lap again, flashing from cub to boy so he could wrap arms around Soobin’s neck and whine about being woken up. Soobin just held him close and smiled into his hair. 

Soobin’s life soon became a pattern. The days he worked day shifts, he and Yeonjun got lunch together, sitting pressed together in random spots around campus and talking about everything under the sun. The few nights a week he worked night shift, Beomgyu would come join him for a few hours before falling asleep in his cub form so he could more easily rest behind the librarian’s desk. Then, as if on schedule, Taehyun would appear, asking for help with finding some new book he needed for his thesis that had somehow disappeared from its proper place on the shelf. They would talk while they searched, getting to know each other, talking about Taehyun’s research and Soobin’s degree, about their plans for the future, about random questions of morality Taehyun threw out at Soobin almost out of nowhere it seemed. 

It was a nice routine. 

But one night, the routine was interrupted. 

Soobin had warned Beomgyu that drinking four cups of coffee wasn’t going to turn out well. However, his boyfriend (and it was official now, Yeonjun had told him at lunch three days ago that Beomgyu bragged about him and used the label exclusively to other members of their dance club, so Soobin felt comfortable using it as well) hadn’t listened to him, saying something about needing to be able to stay awake due to a video game he had been playing on and off all semester. 

(Soobin really didn’t know if Beomgyu had ever done a single assignment in his life.)

And now Beomgyu was here, pressed into his side and whining about being exhausted, but unable to sleep. Soobin was petting his hair softly while muttering that he had told him so, and that Beomgyu had brought it upon himself, but he still felt bad for his boyfriend. He was too nice, he thought to himself absently as Beomgyu soothed himself by biting down on Soobin’s shoulder. 

Soobin gently shoved him away, making Beomgyu pout even more, and then Taehyun was in front of the desk. He looked surprised to see Soobin, which was a little confusing because Soobin followed the same schedule as always, and Taehyun had been stopping by to see him almost every night he worked for weeks now. Or, at least, it was confusing until Beomgyu perked up. “Taehyun!” Beomgyu said, standing up from the chair he and Soobin had been trying to share and darting around the desk to throw himself into Taehyun’s arms. 

Taehyun caught him easily, shooting Soobin a look as he did so, as if he’d been caught. Taehyun clearly knew Beomgyu well, was holding him carefully so as not to drop him, and Soobin was confused. Racking his memory, he vaguely remembered the first time he had met Beomgyu, truly met him, and his eyes lit up in recognition. “Beomgyu was wearing your shirt!” he said, pointing at Taehyun, although there was no one else around. 

“He was?” Taehyun asked, eyes narrowing at Beomgyu. 

“Hahaha funny story about that, actually!” Beomgyu said, trying to wiggle out of Taehyun’s arms, which now seemed locked around him instead of supporting. “Taehyunnie let me go, I gave it back! Come on!” 

Soobin watched in confusion as Taehyun and Beomgyu struggled against each other, Taehyun saying something soft enough that Soobin couldn’t hear it, but that made Beomgyu laugh before Taehyun let go of him, dropping him unceremoniously on the library floor. Beomgyu just grinned up at him, however, and didn’t look upset, so Soobin decided he probably didn’t need to defend his boyfriend’s honor. 

“Beomgyu, do you just have a habit of stealing people’s clothes?” Soobin asked, his nose crinkling as he looked at the boy who had now decided to sprawl out on the floor. “Come on, get up, I don’t think the janitor cleans that nearly as often as they should,” he said, coming around his desk to offer Beomgyu a hand. 

Beomgyu took it, only to tug Soobin down on top of him, giggling while he did so and wrapping arms around his waist. “How do you know Taehyunnie, Soobinnie?” he asked, leaving Soobin to struggle to get up from the floor. 

Soobin didn’t respond, too busy gently slapping at Beomgyu’s shoulders to get his boyfriend to release him, and then there was a hand reaching down to him. He looked at Taehyun, who was offering, and took it, feeling a small rush of warmth run through him at the contact, even if Taehyun’s hand was a little more cool than it should be. Taehyun tugged him up from the floor easily, Beomgyu breaking his hold to let him go, and Soobin crossed his arms to look down at his boyfriend. “Fine, you can stay on the ground and be gross, see if I care,” he said, but Beomgyu merely laughed and made grabby hands his way. 

Soobin was a little bit gone for Beomgyu, he couldn’t lie. 

So he helped him up, letting Beomgyu go back to wrapping arms around his waist the minute he was standing upright. “You didn’t answer my question,” Beomgyu said, looking back and forth between Soobin and Taehyun. 

“I’ve been helping him find some books for his thesis while you sleep my shift away,” Soobin said, nudging him gently. “I didn’t know you knew each other? Taehyun didn’t mention it.” 

Taehyun shifted, looking a little guilty, as Beomgyu gaped at him. “You didn’t  _ mention  _ the fact that you’re my  _ best friend _ to the man you  _ knew was my boyfriend? _ ” Beomgyu asked, eyes narrowing at his apparent best friend. 

Soobin was officially very lost. “Wait, you knew who I was?” he asked Taehyun, frowning slightly. “Why didn’t you say something?” 

Taehyun sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair, looking away from the pair. “Okay, yes, sorry, I did know who you were,” he admitted, turning back to look at Soobin. “Beomgyu and Yeonjun talked about you a lot and I just wanted to see what kind of person you were without them there to influence anything. I was just trying to make sure you were good enough for them.” 

Soobin continued to frown, a small negative feeling nagging at him, something saying he was a little upset that Taehyun had not actually been talking to him to befriend him, but to vet him and make sure he was a good enough boyfriend. He had liked talking to Taehyun a lot, he had looked forward to the nights he knew Taehyun would show up at his desk so they could play book detective. “Did you actually need help finding the books?” he asked, thinking back to how almost every book they had tracked down had been in a weird location. 

Taehyun shook his head slowly and Beomgyu tightened his arms around Soobin’s waist as Soobin’s frown turned more into a pout. “I really only intended to do it once, the first night, I promise I didn’t plan to keep it going,” Taehyun said, sounding apologetic, “but then I just… I liked you. I liked talking to you. So I kept hiding books so we would have an excuse to talk more. I’m sorry, hyung, I should have told you right away.” 

Soobin moved Beomgyu’s arms from around him and moved so he was standing in front of Taehyun, hands on his hips. “Do you mean it?” he asked, studying Taehyun’s face to try and see if he was being honest. 

“Mean what?” Taehyun asked, meeting his gaze evenly, not shying away. 

“Do you mean it when you said you liked me?” Soobin asked, voice wavering slightly. He wasn’t great at confrontation, and although there was nothing dangerous about this conversation, the stakes still felt high. 

Ha. Stakes. 

“Yes,” Taehyun said instantly, continuing to meet Soobin’s gaze. “I like you. You’re interesting. I see why Beomgyu and Yeonjun are head over heels for you. I think I could get there too, with more time.” 

Soobin’s ears turned pink from Taehyun’s words and he immediately turned to look at Beomgyu, who looked confused but not displeased at the situation and had moved to lean against the desk so he could watch them both. “Yeonjun-hyung is going to be pissed he missed this,” Beomgyu said when he saw Soobin looking at him. “I wish I had popcorn. Seriously, babe, how does this keep happening to you? Are you in a drama?” 

Soobin rolled his eyes, but the frown was gone from his face, instead a fond smile taking its place. Beomgyu smiled back, eyes warm, before turning to Taehyun and saying, “Well, what are you waiting for Tae, go on and kiss him.” 

Soobin’s eyes went wide, his ears and cheeks both flushing pinker, and he whipped his head back around to Taehyun, who had taken a step closer into Soobin’s personal space. “Can I?” he asked, voice soft, and God, maybe Soobin  _ was _ in a drama but Beomgyu was watching expectantly and, well, Soobin didn’t really  _ want  _ to say no, so he nodded. 

Kissing a vampire was different from kissing Beomgyu and Yeonjun or any human Soobin had kissed before his move. Taehyun was confident, clearly knew what he was doing and how to get Soobin’s knees weak, but there was also a thrill running down Soobin’s spine at the reminder of just how sharp Taehyun’s teeth were, despite how gentle Taehyun was. 

Soobin would probably have to examine that part of himself at some point, but during his and Taehyun’s first kiss didn’t necessarily seem to be the right time. 

Soobin felt like he could kiss Taehyun forever, probably, but it was interrupted relatively quickly when Beomgyu started cheering and Soobin had to tear away from Taehyun to shush him, reminding him in a hissed whisper that, “We are in a  _ library _ , Beomgyu, and it is after  _ midnight. _ ”

Beomgyu didn’t actually seem to have any remorse for the situation, but it did make Taehyun laugh and Soobin decided quickly that he would probably get fired for Taehyun’s laugh and Beomgyu’s smile. 

Yeonjun would simply have to support him, since the other two men in his life were still university students. 

He hoped Yeonjun didn’t mind. 

Yeonjun didn’t like the idea of being Soobin’s sugar daddy, it turned out, but he didn’t mind the inclusion of Taehyun at all. Beomgyu had been right, Yeonjun was a little upset he wasn’t there when it happened, which made Soobin worry until Yeonjun made it clear that he was only upset that he missed watching Taehyun and Soobin kiss. 

Soobin shoved him, scowling and flushing, but Beomgyu immediately jumped into a play by play, which made Soobin’s flush grow. 

Having a third boy he was dating made Soobin’s schedule a little bit harder to maintain. Taehyun was still in the library on the nights that Soobin was working, but he seemed to spend most of his time actually working on his thesis now, claiming that it was getting closer to his deadline. When he wasn’t working, he and Beomgyu would sit side by side at a table near Soobin’s desk and shove each other with their shoulders as they bent over a single computer playing games. 

Soobin often got distracted watching them together. 

Instead of their dates in the stacks, Taehyun started coming over to Soobin’s place a few nights a week. He still brought his thesis, he took his school seriously, but curling up in front of the fire with Taehyun while he worked and Soobin read soon became one of his favorite ways to spend time. 

He found out new things about Taehyun, too, when they got to know each other outside of the library setting. Soobin was definitely into the fangs, but Taehyun was  _ strong  _ too, strong enough to pick Beomgyu up and throw him around and to lift Soobin easily as well for...other reasons. 

Watching Taehyun, Yeonjun, and Beomgyu interact was another perk of his new schedule. They decided relatively early on into Soobin’s relationship with Taehyun that they wanted a night together, all together, at least once a week. They chose Fridays, when Soobin worked day shift and Yeonjun’s dance class didn’t meet, and Fridays became Soobin’s favorite days. They got together and ordered food, watching movies or playing games, but it almost always ended in a wrestling match between at least two of Soobin’s boys. 

One Friday, all three had decided to team up on Soobin when he hadn’t wanted to watch a horror movie they wanted to see, which seemed unfair when they had been trying to convince him by promising they would protect him. Soobin had screamed and laughed and shoved at them as they descended on him by tickling and kissing whatever part of him they could reach. 

Soobin still loved his job as well. Namjoon had crossed the line from his boss to his friend somewhere along the way with all the advice he gave and the way he purposely looked the other way when one of Soobin’s boyfriends dropped by and distracted him from work. He had met Namjoon’s husband, as well, one night when he joined Yeonjun as his date to a dance event and blushed bright pinkwhen Namjoon’s husband immediately pinched his cheek and started asking Namjoon how he hadn’t won Soobin over yet. 

“I’m working on it,” Namjoon had said with a wink Soobin’s way, laughing when Yeonjun wrapped an arm around his waist and tugged him into his side. Soobin had no idea if he was teasing or not as Namjoon and his husband wandered away to the professor they had apparently recently gotten to agree to a date with them both. 

“They’re intimidating when they’re together,” Soobin whispered to Yeonjun once he was sure they were far enough away. 

“Mm,” Yeonjun said, smiling at Soobin, “you’re just irresistible. I swear, we’re going to have to buy you a collar or something. Property of BeomTaeJun.” 

Soobin swatted at him, tugging away from his side in protest, but couldn’t help himself from laughing. He couldn’t imagine juggling a fourth boyfriend, his schedule was as full as his heart at this point, so he mostly assumed Yeonjun was teasing. 

The school year started to fly by. Taehyun and, somehow, Beomgyu seemed to pass their finals and the four got to spend a good chunk of the winter break curled up together watching holiday movies and trying their best to make food before Yeonjun threw them out of the kitchen and took over. Beomgyu and Soobin got in a snowball fight, Taehyun took Soobin out on a nighttime picnic to see the stars, and Yeonjun decided he was going to teach Soobin how to dance which led to Yeonjun holding him close and gliding him around the studio to a playlist of their favorite songs.

Everything was going well.

The only negative thing about his new life was that Soobin didn’t get much time to himself anymore. He would always prefer having his boyfriends over than being alone, but Soobin was an introvert and there were some times his battery was drained from constant socialization between work and his boys. It made him a little bit twitchy some days at work, when there was very little break time and a seemingly endless stream of people who needed his help.

Namjoon was always quick to pick up on the days that Soobin got overwhelmed, however, and didn’t mind stepping in and telling him to go home early whenever they could spare him. 

One of those days, Soobin was let free from the library a full hour before he would normally have been off. He had plans with his boys later that night, something he would always look forward to, but he didn’t necessarily want to jump from one stressful situation to another rowdy one. Instead, he decided to do something he hadn’t done since the day he and Yeonjun had started dating, before it had gotten cold and the campus had been covered in snow. 

Now that the snow was melting and the plants were starting to grow again, it was time to do some more exploring of the campus that had been Soobin’s home for over six months now. He had been in a few more of the buildings, running around to bring his boyfriends things like coffee or medicine or, one odd time, Beomgyu a length of rope. He hadn’t asked. However, the grounds were still full of new and magical things for him to find. 

Soobin set off on his walk, determined to find a nice spot to sit and relax for a few minutes. He was reading an excellent book about kelpie culture and he hadn’t really had a chance to read through it in days and today was an excellent opportunity. 

The campus grounds really were beautiful. Soobin had known that, had known it since the day he arrived, and had found them beautiful even covered in snow, but there was something about the plants that grew spread out over the campus that made it feel...well, he knew that it was magical, that all the grounds and buildings and most of the people were magical, but, well, the magical became mundane quite quickly when you were surrounded by it. The plants were bringing that feeling of magic back.

Soobin didn’t realize how much he would miss it until the feeling returned to him.

This was why Soobin had chosen to come here, to follow the magic as far as it would allow him to. The feeling in his lungs, in his heart, in the air was breathtaking and it almost made Soobin feel like he was floating around campus instead of walking. Everywhere he went, there was something to see, some new plant starting to bloom or students spread out with their friends or even practicing spellwork alone. 

Soobin was stopped in his tracks when he heard a laugh from one of the group of friends spread out on the grass near a fountain. He turned his head, frowning slightly, the laugh somehow sounding familiar. He didn’t recognize any of the students in the group, at least not beyond what may be vague recognition upon seeing them in the library, but he couldn’t help but feel like he was missing something. 

Suddenly there was another laugh, the same laugh, and Soobin’s eyes widened as he saw tiny blue flowers start to sprout from the grass. 

He knew those flowers. 

He  _ did _ know the laugh. 

Soobin moved his gaze from the flowers, the flowers he had pressed and saved in his bedroom, the flowers that he had seen last semester that had convinced him he was doing the right thing as he had made his way to Yeonjun and Beomgyu, and then raised his eyes to the boy who had caused them to bloo

The boy was looking back at him. 

He didn’t seem as confused as Soobin was. 

“Soobin-hyung?” the boy asked instead, jumping to his feet. Soobin had no idea how he had recognized him, so much had changed since they had last seen each other. The boy in front of him was tall, almost as tall as he was, in a cute sweater and pink beret. He looked sure of himself, of his magic, much different from the child who had hugged Soobin goodbye years ago. 

“Kai?” Soobin asked, softly, still hesitant that he wasn’t making the whole thing up in his head. 

The other boy, and it really did seem like it was Kai, lit up at Soobin’s words, a large smile forming on his face, before he made his way over to Soobin and tackled him in a hug. 

Soobin let out an  _ oof _ as they went down, but he didn’t feel any pain. Kai had softened the blow for them before they hit the ground. “Soobin-ah, I had no idea you were here! How are you here? Did you have magic and not tell me? That was rude! I tried to write to you, after I left, but my mom told me that you needed to forget and then by the time you didn’t need to forget anymore I had no idea how to contact you. I missed you!” Kai continued to talk, lying on top of Soobin as they spread out amongst the forget-me-nots that had grown from Kai’s laugh. 

“How did you know it was me?” Soobin asked, interrupting Kai’s thoughts. “I mean! I missed you too, of course I missed you, I never forgot about you. But it’s been...wow, Kai, it’s been over ten years. How did you recognize me?”

Soobin didn’t know what he was expecting in response. Maybe Kai’s magic had told him. Maybe warlocks had a much better memory than humans, which would make sense, they did have much longer lifespans, and Soobin looked...well, okay, he didn’t think he looked much like he did as a child but there must still be enough resemblance for Kai to put two and two together. What he wasn’t expecting was for Kai to lean on his elbows, propping himself over Soobin so he could look in his face, smile, and say, “Hyung, you’re wearing a name tag. The staring also gave it away.” 

Oh. 

“Oh,” Soobin said, out loud, flushing a little in embarrassment. “I guess that makes sense.” 

Kai laughed, dropping his head onto Soobin’s chest, and flowers bloomed around them. 

It was breathtaking. 

Soobin thought he could stay there forever, with Kai in his arms, framed by flowers, catching up on their lives since they had been separated. They never moved apart from each other, and eventually Kai’s friends that he had been sitting with got up to leave, waving goodbye at Kai as they left him with Soobin. “Do you have any other classes you need to go to today?” Soobin had asked as they left, running a hand through Kai’s hair gently, wondering if he should pick up the hat that had fallen from Kai’s head during their fall and replace it. 

“Nah,” Kai said, seemingly getting more comfortable, “I’m done for the day. What about you? Do you have to...work? I guess?” 

Soobin opened his mouth to say he didn’t have to work, almost said he was free as well, before sitting up abruptly. Kai looked confused, moving to make sure that Soobin could sit, crossing his legs and sitting across from him. “Do you have to go?” he asked, sounding a little sad as he asked. 

Soobin checked his phone, seeing he had spent far longer than he had meant to on his impromptu catch up with Kai, and that his boys would be on their way to his place in less than thirty minutes. “I do,” he said, voice soft, feeling an ache in his chest at the way Kai tried to hide a frown at the words. “Look, I...Why don’t you come with me? If you’re free? It’s not work, I have people coming over. My, uh, my boyfriends. There’s three of them. We were going to eat and watch a movie. I bet they’d love to meet you.”

As soon as he said it, Soobin was sure it was true. He may not know much of who Kai was now, was still learning the basics, but there was a warm feeling inside him, one that got stronger when he thought of Kai and Beomgyu wrestling on the floor or Kai curled up beside Taehyun on the couch. 

Kai seemed to hesitate a moment, looking away from Soobin, and Soobin didn’t want to press him, didn’t want to rush into anything or make him uncomfortable, but he also wanted Kai to know that this wasn’t him being polite. He reached out a hand, gently turning Kai back to face him. “I would like you to come,” he said, voice soft, looking into Kai’s eyes. 

Kai held his gaze for a moment and it felt like they were having an entire conversation without saying a word. “Okay,” Kai said, finally, standing up and dusting off his pants, moving to grab his hat and arrange it back on his head. “Take me to meet the magical boyfriends of Choi Soobin.” 

Soobin grinned at him, getting to his feet himself and grabbing his bag. Kai fell into step beside him and conversation resumed, with Kai now asking questions about Yeonjun, Taehyun, and Beomgyu. They were walking close together, their hands brushing against each other every so often, and Soobin couldn’t help himself from wanting to reach out and intertwine their fingers. He resisted the urge, but only barely. 

They got to Soobin’s place before anyone else arrived, although barely, and Kai immediately started snooping. Soobin didn’t mind, instead rushing to try and get changed out of his work clothes and look like he hadn’t just spent an hour rolling in the grass. He emerged from his room, fussing with his hair, only for Kai to look up from one of the books that had been on Soobin’s shelf. 

A book with a blue flower inside it. 

The look on Kai’s face was hard for Soobin to read, but he crossed the room to take the book from Kai’s hand. He started explaining the story, about how he had found the flowers when he needed them, how he had taken one as a reminder of why he loved magic, that Kai’s flowers had convinced him that he was doing the right thing, but he couldn’t get the full story out before Kai was pressed against him. 

“They only grow around you,” Kai said, voice soft, arms around Soobin’s neck.

“What?” Soobin asked, a little dazed at being this close to Kai again so soon. “But I wasn’t there, I haven’t been there in years.”    


“I was so confused,” Kai said, “when they started growing again this year. They haven’t done that since I was a kid, since I left. It was because of you. My magic must have sensed you, or… or, something, I don’t know, I don’t know how magic works yet, I’m only twenty-two, but Soobin-ah, I--” 

Kai was cut off by a knock at the door. 

Kai closed his mouth, eyes widening slightly, as if becoming aware of what he was doing, and immediately released his arms from around Soobin’s neck, taking a giant step back and turning to stare at the wall. “Kai,” Soobin started, frowning at the way Kai looked upset, but Kai shook his head. 

“Answer the door, hyung, it’s for you.” 

Soobin looked at him for a minute longer, before there was another knock at the door, and then Soobin moved to answer it. All three boys had arrived together, Beomgyu and Yeonjun still in practice clothes and Taehyun in a shirt that had to be Soobin’s, it was so big on him. They were bickering between themselves, although Soobin didn’t get to hear about what before they stopped and instead turned their attention on him. 

“Can we order beef?” Beomgyu asked Soobin immediately, leaning up to kiss him quickly before shoving him aside to go flop on the couch. If he noticed Kai, still standing in his spot by the bookshelf, watching, he didn’t say anything. Yeonjun and Taehyun also greeted Soobin with kisses, but Taehyun must have noticed that something was up

He raised an eyebrow at Soobin, flicking his eyes over to Kai, a question on his face but not being asked out loud as he closed the door behind him and Yeonjun. Soobin took a small breath, making eye contact with Taehyun, before saying out loud, for all of them to hear. “Hey, I missed you guys. Do you, uh, mind if I maybe kiss Kai really quick? I promise I’ll explain after.”    


Taehyun’s eyebrows furrowed a bit as he kept eye contact with Soobin, but he shook his head. Yeonjun, who had immediately made his way into the kitchen, poked his head out to look back and forth between Soobin and Kai before shrugging and ducking back into the kitchen. Beomgyu struggled to sit up on the couch and waggled an eyebrow at Soobin, asking, “Do we get to watch?” 

Soobin didn’t have anything to throw at him, but he did scowl, especially when Kai made a small strangled noise from his spot in the corner. Taehyun placed both hands on Soobin’s chest, pushing him back towards Kai, before going to sit on top of Beomgyu, turning on the tv. “Stop being a creep, Beomie,” Taehyun said simply. 

Soobin watched his boys, his scowl being replaced with a large smile at their encouragement, before looking at Kai properly. He was still frozen in place, eyes wide. “Soobin-ah,” he said, voice soft as Soobin made his way back over to him, eyes darting back and forth from Soobin, Taehyun and Beomgyu, and the kitchen where Yeonjun was clearly trying to find a snack. 

“Don’t focus on them,” Soobin said, placing a hand on Kai’s waist. “I’ll introduce you in a second. I just...what were you going to say? Before they knocked?” 

Kai ducked his head, shaking it as if he didn’t want to say it now that Soobin’s boyfriends were in the room. Soobin put a hand on his chin, gently raising it up to make eye contact with Kai. “I won’t make you say anything you don’t want to. We can talk later. But can I? Kiss you, I mean? I know it’s really fast, you can tell me to fuck off, I mean, you know, or we can take it slow. But if you’re okay with it, I would really like to kiss you.”

“Okay,” Kai breathed out, and Soobin couldn’t stop from smiling before connecting their lips. It was different from the kisses with the other three, he didn’t have to bend down and Kai’s lips felt different. But the same tingle of electricity ran up his spine, he had the same overwhelming urge to pull Kai in closer by his hips and never let him go. Kai clearly felt similar, a small gasp escaping his lips when they connected, before Kai wrapped his arms back around Soobin’s neck and pressed closer into him.

Soobin could feel eyes on him, knew the other three were curious about what was going on, probably wanted an explanation as to why Soobin was kissing a boy they had never met, but none of them seemed upset. Soobin kept the kiss with Kai short, or, well, relatively short, but couldn’t stop himself from resting his forehead against the younger boy’s when they pulled away, couldn’t stop himself from looking into Kai’s eyes to try and read what he was thinking. 

“Hyung,” Taehyun called out, once he realized that they seemed to be done with their moment, “I don’t know if this will be alarming to you but there is a flower growing through your floor.” Kai and Soobin broke eye contact at the same time to look towards where Taehyun was gesturing, and sure enough, a yellow daffodil was poking through the floorboards near the fireplace. 

  
“Huh,” Kai breathed out, tilting his head as he studied the plant, “that’s new.”    
  


Soobin couldn’t help but laugh. 

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to come chat on twitter @dimpleleaders
> 
> i genuinely loved writing this so much i may do more stories in this verse in the future, so if you loved it as well, keep an eye out!


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